Coin controlled bottle releasing mechanism



p 1966 N. L. KESECKER COIN CONTROLLED BOTTLE RELEASING MECHANISM Filed May 27, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR jvbrmazz L. fiaeaker BY 4W; JM

ATTORNEYS Sept. 6, 1966 N. L. KESECKER Q COIN CONTROLLED BQTTLE RELEASING MECHANISM Filed May 27, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /xa 5a 70 60 4 7432652" m m 86 7a 76 96 a INVENTOR Norman L. K656018 61" \7 BY Q ATTORNEYS Sept. 6, 1966 N. KESECKER COIN CONTROLLED BOTTLE RELEASING MECHANISM Fi led May 27, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ENTR Norman L. .ksecker ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ice 3,270,917 COIN CONTROLLED BQTTLE RELEASING MECHANISM Norman L. Keseclker, Kearneysville, W. Va., assignor to Dixie-Narco, Inc., Hanson, W. Va. Filed May 27, 1965, Ser. No. 459,251 4 Claims. (Cl. 221133) This invention relates to bottle releasing mechanisms for use in beverage dispensing cabinets wherein a particular bottle is selected and moved to a release position in the cabinet. The mechanism involved herein is of a coin controlled variety and functions to release the selected bottle for withdrawal from the cabinet by the customer.

In general, the dispensing cabinet contemplated is of a known type wherein a plurality of rows of bottles of beverage are arranged in a cooled compartment and the end bottle from any selected row may be moved along guide rails to a dispensing station where it is moved into a compartment in the releasing mechanism. Upon the deposit of the required coinage, the mechanism is conditioned to permit withdrawal of the selected bottle from the compartment. The invention relates to a novel releasing mechanism.

It is, therefore, an obect of this invention to provide a bottle releasing mechanism that is very simple in design and economical to manufacture yet highly reliable in operation.

Another object is to provide a bottle releasing mechanism of the type set forth capable of removal from a dispensing cabinet independently of any coin changer mechanism.

A further object is to provide a novel bottle releasing mechanism effective to prevent manipulation for the unauthorized removal of bottles from the cabinet.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 with parts thereof broken away;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2 but showing the movable parts in a different position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, on an enlarged scale, showing the parts in still different relative posi tions; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, somewhat enlarged, taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 shows the environment of the present invention and comprises a preferably heat insulated cabinet 2 having an upwardly openable lid or cover 4. In the lower part of the cabinet 6, suitable cooling or refrigerating mechanism (not shown) is provided to keep the contents of the cabinet cold. A bottom wall 8 within the cabinet defines a support for bottles, not shown, arranged in the cabinet with their necks extending upwardly in the spaces 10 between rails 12. The rails 12 are sufficiently close together so that the bottles cannot be withdrawn upwardly through the spaces 10 but can be moved along those spaces past the ends of the rails 12 into a transverse opening 14. The opening 14 is likewise too narrow to permit upward withdrawal of the bottles but they may be moved therealong to a station identified at 15, which will be further described. The rails 12 are joined together by bridge members 16 so as to define a unitary assembly. At least one rail '18 is long enough to abut the side wall 3,270,917 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 19 of a release mechanism housing 20 removably positioned in one end of the cabinet 2. The housing 20 is locked or otherwise releasably secured in the cabinet 2 and can be removed only by authorized personnel. When so removed, the assembly of rails 12 can be slid to the right in cabinet 2 to provide space at the near end of the cabinet (FIG. 1) for the replacement of bottles to be dispensed. The structure thus far described is generally known in the art and is described herein merely to provide a proper environment for the invention.

The cabinet 2 is also provided with a coin box 22 adapted to receive coins in the usual slots 24. In many instances, it is necessary to make change and the coin box 22 is of a known type adapted to accept either a plurality of coins of the required value or it may accept a coin or coins of too great a value for the purchase of a bottle of beverage and deliver to the customer the required change, in the tray 26. After the required amount of coinage is deposited, an electrical circuit is momentarily completed to acutate the bottle release mechanism to be described. The coin box 22 is likewise of a known construction and in itself forms no part of the present invention. The station 15, previously referred to, is defined by an opening 28 in a side of the housing 20 and through which a selected bottle may be moved sideways into a compartment 30 in the housing 20 and defined in part by fixed walls 31 and 33 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

Referring now to FIGS. 2-6, the side wall 19 of the housing 20 is provided with the opening 28 of the general size and shape of the lower part of a bottle to be dispensed but one side of the top of the compartment 30 is partly closed by a lip 32 fixed to the housing 20 at the top of wall 33. A second movable lip 34 partly closes the other side of the top of the compartment 30 and extends over the upper end of wall 31 so as to leave an opening in the top Wall of the housing 20 only large enough for the neck of a bottle 36 to project loosely therethrough. The distance between the inner edges of the lips 32 and 34 is sufficiently small so that the bottle 36 cannot be withdrawn upwardly t-herethrough. The lip 34 is part of a pivoted gate structure, pivoted inside the housing 20 on a pivot pin 37, so that it may be swung from the full line position of FIG. 2 to the dotted line position. In the latter position, it can be seen that the lip 34 has moved laterally of the top opening of compartment 30 and thus upward withdrawal of the bottle 36 is possible. Actually, the lip 34 is forced to the dotted line position by the bottle itself as it is pulled up. The pivoted structure which includes the lip 34 also includes a gate plate 38 adjacent side wall 19 and normally in the solid line position of FIG. 2 but which moves to the dotted line position when the lip 34 is retracted and thus prevents introduction of a second bottle into the compartment 30 while the bottle 36 is being withdrawn and until after the gate again swings to its full line position. A tension spring 40 is connected to the interior of the housing 20 and to the gate plate 38 to normally urge the gate plate to the open solid line position and thus move the lip 34 into partial compartment closing position. A more or less conventional tooth and ratchet assembly 42, 44, 46 is employed to ensure that the lip and gate be moved through a complete cycle, that is to the fully open position, before they can be returned to the closed position. This feature is known in the art.

Within the housing 20 is an intermediate frame structure 48 (see FIG. 6 also) upon which an L-shaped slide 50 is mounted. The slide 50 has an upper horizontal flange 52 and a vertical side flange 54 slidably bearing against the intermediate frame structure 48 and slidably guided thereon by slots 56 embracing pins 58 on the frame 48. The side flange 54 of the slide 50 is provided with a pair of brackets 60 defining therebetween a slot or channel 62 adjacent a portion of the gate plate 38. Gate plate 38 has a pin 64 fixed thereto and which projects into channel 62, fitting slidably but loosely therein. It will be apparent from the structure described, that sliding movement of the slide 58 is enforced by swinging movements of the gate plate 38 about pivot 37. In other words, movement of the two elements must take place simultaneously.

The frame 48 is provided with a lateral opening 66, through which the nose portion 68 of a latch member 70 projects in position to engage the forward edge 74 of the side flange 54 of slide 50 when the lip 34 is in the full line position of FIG. 2. Thus, the latch 70 is effective to prevent sliding movement of the slide 59 to the right and thus prevents swinging movement of the lip 34 from its full line position. A spring 72 urges the latch 70 to swing about its pivot 75 (by which the latch is pivotally mounted on the frame 48) in a direction to withdraw the nose 68 from the opening 66 and thus release the slide and gate for movement to a bottle releasing position. However, such releasing movement of the latch 70 is prevented by a block pin 76 carried by a slide bar 78, also slidably mounted on the frame 48 by means of the pins 80 thereon and the slots 82 in the slide bar 78. In the locked position the blocking pin 76 engages a rear surface 84 of the latch 70 to prevent spring 72 from swinging the latch to a release position.

The slide bar 78 is connected to the armature 86 of a solenoid 88 which is mounted within the housing 20. A tension spring 90 urges the slide bar 78 to the right, as seen in the drawings, to position blocking pin 76 in the latch-holding position described.

When a pulse of electric current is passed through the coil of the solenoid 88, its armature 86 is momentarily drawn to the left, thus pulling slide bar 78 to the left and removing blocking pin 76 from the edge 84 of the latch and the latter is permitted to move, under the influence of spring 72, to the released position shown in FIG. 4. The coin changing mechanism previously referred to operates to direct a pulse of electric current through the conductors 92 to the coil of solenoid 88, thus energizing the same. But, since it is a pulse of short duration, the slide bar 78 is promptly released to the action of spring 90, which draws it back toward the right. However, a depression or hook 94 in the latch 70 engages the blocking pin 76 whereby the latch is hooked in its retracted position and the slide bar 78 is prevented from moving all the way to its right hand position. The hook portion 94 is spaced from the edge 84 and extending between the two is an oblique cam surface 96.

Depending from the upper flange of the slide 50 is a post 98 on the lower end of which a cam element 100 is secured spaced above the latch 70. The latch 70 is provided with an upstanding post 102 which, in the released position of the latch as shown in FIG. 4, is in the path of movement of cam element 100. The parts are now in such condition that the latch is released, the slide 50 is free to slide to the right and the lip 34 may be swung to its open position by upward removal of the bottle 36 from compartment 30. When the bottle is thus removed, the gate plate 38 swings to the dotted line position of FIG. 2 and through the connections described, causes the slide 50 to move to the right. This movement of slide 50 causes cam 100 to engage post 102 and forcibly swing the latch clockwise, which displaces the hook 94 from blocking pin 76. However, the latch cannot move to slide blocking position since its nose portion 68 will now engage the inner face of side flange 54 of the slide 50 rearwardly of the edge 74, as shown in FIG. 5. The blocking pin 76 at this time engages the cam surface 96 and the spring 90, being a stronger spring than the spring 72, tends to overpower the latter and tends to cam the latch 70 to its locking position. At this time it can only force the nose of the latch into sliding engagement with the slide flange 54 and it remains in that position until the bottle 36 has been removed and spring 40 returns the lip 34 to closed position and thus moves the slide 50 back to its initial position, as shown in FIG. 3. As soon as the slide 58 moves back far enough for the nose 68 of the latch 70 to clear the leading edge 74 of the slide, the spring forces the pin 76 over cam surface 96 and forces the latch 79 back to the locking position of FIG. 4 and at the same time positions the blocking pin 76 against the edge 84, previously referred to, and the release mechanism is then locked until the solenoid 88 is again energized.

A microswitch indicated generally at (see FIG. 5) is actuated by a depending flange 112 on the outer end of the slide bar 78. Thus, the microswitch is actually held in actuated position as long as the slide bar 78 is in the position shown in FIG. 4. This microswitch is connected to the coin change box 22 so that any coins deposited in the box while the parts are in the position of FIG. 4 will be automatically returned as being prematurely deposited. This feature is also well-known to the art.

The conductors 92 leading to the solenoid 88 and the conductors (not shown) connecting the switch 110 to the coin box are preferably provided with a connector plug whereby they may be disconnected from the coin box 22, from a position within the cabinet 2. Thus, the housing 20 may be released and removed from the cabinet 2 for service or repair or for other purposes without having to remove the coin box 22 from the cabinet.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the release mechanism heretofore described is simple in constmction and operation and yet provides a substantially foolproof mechanism whereby a bottle cannot be withdrawn from the cabinet without the deposit of the proper coins for each bottle withdrawn. In other words, the mechanism cannot be manipulated so as to permit the release of more than one bottle at a time.

While a single specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that the same is merely illustrative of the features of the invention, which encompasses all modifications falling fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle releasing mechanism for a dispensing cabinet, said mechanism comprising means defining a housing provided with a side wall, a top wall, a compartment in said housing, a side opening in said side wall for admitting an upright bottle to said compartment, and a top opening in said top wall for removal of a bottle from said compartment, a bottle restraining lip member partially closing said top opening and being movably mounted on said housing for movement away from said top opening; a movable latch holding said lip member in position to partially close said top opening when said latch is in latching position; a solenoid in said housing; and means operable by said solenoid when energized to release said latch to move to a release position, means biasing said latch to its release position; movable blocking means engaging said latch to prevent movement thereof to its release position, said solenoid being connected to said blocking means whereby to withdraw said blocking means from said latch when said solenoid is energized.

2. A mechanism as defined in claim 1 including means biasing said blocking means for movement toward said blocking relation to said latch; holding means on said latch engageable by said blocking means when moving toward said blocking relation to hold said latch released; cam means on said latch engageable by said blocking means for moving said latch to latching position; and resilient means urging said blocking means toward said blocking position.

3. A mechanism as defined in claim 2 including release means, on said slide member, for engaging and moving said latch when said slide and lip move toward bot tle releasing position; said release means being arranged to move said latch from a position wherein said blocking means engages said holding means to a position where said blocking means engages said cam means.

4. A bottle releasing mechanism for a dispensing cabinet, said mechanism comprising means defining a housing provided with a side wall, a top wall, a compartment in said housing, a side opening in said side wall for admitting an upright bottle to said compartment, and a top opening in said top wall for removal of a bottle from said compartment, a bottle restraining lip member partial- 'ly closing said top opening and being movably mounted on said housing for movement away from said top opening; a movable latch holding said lip member in position to partially close said top opening when said latch is in latching position; a solenoid in said housing; means nor mally holding said latch in latching position and operable by said solenoid when energized to release said latch to move to a release position, biasing means unging said latch to release position, holding means responsive to actuation of said solenoid for holding said latch in release position; and means responsive to movement of said lip member toward bottle releasing position for releasing said holding means and urging said latch toward its latching position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,777,605 1/1957 Watlington 221-133 2,875,922 3/1959 Hsu et a1 221303 X 2,880,904 4/1959 Linthicum 221303 X 2,922,546 1/1960 Truslake 221-133 2,934,239 4/1960 Salisbury 221-133 X 2,961,081 11/1960 Sloyer et al 221l33 X 3,163,328 12/1964 Cornelius 221133 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BOTTLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR A DISPENSING CABINET, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING MEANS DEFINING A HOUSING PROVIDED WITH A SIDE WALL, A TOP WALL, A COMPARTMENT IN SAID HOUSING, A SIDE OPENING IN SAID SIDE WALL FOR ADMITTING AN UPRIGHT BOTTLE TO SAID COMPARTMENT, AND A TOP OPENING IN SAID TOP WALL FOR REMOVAL OF A BOTTLE FROM SAID COMPARTMENT, A BOTTLE RESTRAINING LIP MEMBER PARTIALLY CLOSING SAID TOP OPENING AND BEING MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING FOR MOVEMENT AWAY FROM SAID TOP OPENING; A MOVABLE LATCH HOLDING SAID LIP MEMBER IN POSITION TO PARTIALLY CLOSE SAID TOP OPENING WHEN SAID LATCH IS IN LATCHING POSITION; A SOLENOID IN SAID HOUSING; AND MEANS OPERABLE BY SAID SOLENOID WHEN ENERGIZED TO RELEASE SAID LATCH TO MOVE TO A RELEASE POSITION, MEANS BIASING SAID LATCH TO ITS RELEASE POSITION; MOVABLE BLOCKING MEANS ENGAGING SAID LATCH TO PREVENT MOVEMENT THEREOF TO ITS RELEASE POSITION, SAID SOLENOID BEING CONNECTED TO SAID BLOCKING MEANS WHEREBY TO WITHDRAW SAID BLOCKING MEANS FROM SAID LATCH WHEN SAID SOLENOID IS ENERGIZED. 